Weigh in: Proposed designs for a new mural at Rossi Pool

Rossi Pool on Arguello reopened recently after some maintenance work. In addition to an upgraded facility, Rossi is also slated for a little culture via a new mural on one of its interior walls.

The San Francisco Arts Commission worked with Rec & Park to commission a signature artwork for the renovated pool “that will inspire and engage the pool’s users and enhance their connection to recreation and to the neighborhood”.

The art work will be installed in the interior of the pool building on an existing concrete wall at the north end of the pool. Three artists were chosen to submit designs for the project: Kelly Ording, Lordy Rodriguez, and Owen Smith.

Provide Feedback On the Designs

You can view the preliminary designs that were submitted on the SFAC website; brief summaries and previews of them are also included below. The public comment period runs from November 8 – 22, 2016, and all comments will be summarized and shared with the Panel prior to the final selection at The Final Selection Panel meeting on November 30, 2016 (1-5pm at 401 Van Ness Avenue, Room 302).

KELLY ORDING
Living in an urban environment, we all search for open spaces, seeking an escape from city life at times. My proposal for Rossi Pool aims to spark that sense of adventure and imagination in the swimmers that often visit the pool. A beloved part of the Inner Richmond District, Rossi Pool offers the community a unique place to meet, exercise and spend time. By nature, natatoriums bring the outside in, allowing people the opportunity to swim inside its walls, under its roof. Through this proposal, I would like to bring the inside out, transporting swimmers outdoors to an imagined natural seascape.

A portion of the mural proposed by Kelly Ording. Click to enlarge.

The proposed mural by Kelly Ording, showing placement on the north wall of Rossi Pool. Click to enlarge.

LORDY RODRIGUEZ
An often unnoticed characteristic of maps is the map’s place in time. We easily accept that they are current and only notice inconsistencies when we are using an outdated map. In this drawing, that element is used to tell the historical story of the Richmond area that surrounds the Rossi Pool facility.

The mural proposed by Lordy Rodriguez. Click to enlarge.

OWEN SMITH
Swimming has many benefits, both physical and mental. Water has the ability to buoy up our bodies as well as our spirits, no matter what our age. The mural focuses on the youthful joy of children frolicking in a fantasy of underwater life. The mural depicts an ethnically diverse representation of girls and boys. The mural is meant to be evocative of happy memories of youth, optimism, freedom and the sensual pleasure of gliding through the water.